UpdateTalked with a neighbour who had dealings with council tree guy in the recent past and his experience was not good he did not feel the inspector was at all concerned and that the tree was fine as it was, regardless of all the surrounding residents views. The last allowance made was for minimum pruning of dead wood. With this in mind I shall tread lightly and as arborlad advised, have some meetings with local tree firms to establish the best course to follow - but it begins to sound like it might not be easy raymilland - can you let me know what was behind the successful felling you mentioned ?

My situation was somewhat different to yours in that there were 3 trees tightly packed together in a neighbour's garden. Tree officer took the view to fell 2 of the poorer specimens to allow the remaining one to flourish. He told us this in advance of our consulting a tree surgeon and even helped with the wording on our application.

I still believe consulting the council's officer first is the more sensible approach as ultimately you will have to engage with him/her anyway regardless of what any tree surgeon might advise. It's also possible that the TPO is historic and the arboricultural officer may have changed from the one who implemented it.

It would seem best that you consult a wellknown.well qualified tree surgeon who has had dealings in TPO case before contacting council . It is he who will apply for TPO pruning or felling.

He may find disease in the tree that isn't obvious at first. (Some of my ash trees look fit and well but tree surgeon has said they are not in good condiition and need felling.)

If yours has any disease or is causing any problems(eg damage to walls /buildings) there is a chance TPO will be lifted.Of the various websites re TPO's this one seems useful though different county's may operate differently.Wonder why the TPO was put there in first place?http://www.southbucks.gov.uk/treefaqs

I know the purpose of TPO's as have had several experiences of them in different counties over the years.(Each council acted differently). In one instance 4 tall poplars at the bottom of our gardens had TPO's on them my neighbour chopped his two down . No fine inflicted. Also a cedar tree was chopped down with permission. (both those incidents were in Berkshire.) I just wondered why the TPO had been put on that particular Ash tree in OP's small garden.

Perhaps it was because the land was originally garden ground of a larger property and the developer was requested to preserve some of the trees on it.?Recently I advised my daughter against buying particular house because it had a boundary issue but mainly because a huge tree directly across the road had TPO order on it and the branches spread right across the road cut out all light to upper rooms of house she wanted to buy. Residents had requested for it to be pruned back to no avail(Norfolk ).Hopefully OP will be able to resolve his issue satisfactorily.

cleo5 wrote:I know the purpose of TPO's as have had several experiences of them in different counties over the years.(Each council acted differently). In one instance 4 tall poplars at the bottom of our gardens had TPO's on them my neighbour chopped his two down . No fine inflicted.

Enforcement is discretionary. In any event each case will be judged on its merits.

cleo5 wrote: a cedar tree was chopped down with permission.

Why not. There would be a valid reason why it was acceptable.

cleo5 wrote:I just wondered why the TPO had been put on that particular Ash tree in OP's small garden.

That should be a matter of public record. Maybe the OP can ask the tree officer and then enlighten us.

Correct, the tree was in a large garden that has been developed for two bungalows. I have the original plans which only show the tree and the fact it has been designated 'protected' but no reason is given (on my paperwork), this was in 1995. The tree then was at least 100ft from the nearest building, it is now only 8 ft ! I am awaiting a meeting with a large tree management company who are to survey and advise what is the best course of action to pursue, i will let them manage the appeal. I also have the full backing of my three immediate neighbours, this may help to influence any decision.

You should consider too the possibility that if the tree is removed, that may affect the nearby property. The tree serves to keep the land around the property dry. Removing it may cause swelling of the soil as it becomes moist again. What type of soil do you have?

Yes I will update as things progress, although it may be a bit of a Saga....... Yes I am aware of Ground Heave after the removal of a large tree but the bungalows are built on piling foundations which are ideally suited for unstable ground. The Tree is an ASH which I believe is not a great drinker ( unlike myself ) so hopefully that may not be an issue?

1) My father in law's neighbour (same village) has an ash tree on water board land shading his veg garden. After years of lobbying, he persuaded the council to agree to crown lifting, as some limbs stretched out over the road and there is a minimum clearance stipulated. The neighbour had to bear the expense. I got some free ash - which is a very good burner

2) My neighbour recently felled a large willow and took 3m off an acacia which was straggly being in the shade of the willow. He had commissioned a report after one of the limbs of the willow cracked in a storm about July time. We are in a Conservation Area and trees are protected too. They granted planning permission without demur.

Looking at out local council's web site quite a lot of the planning permissions granted are for trees. It might be a good idea to look at your council web site raygin9 and check the lie of the land. Or the lopping of trees, to be more accurate!

For what it's worth, I agree with your plan to get an expert report before approaching the council.